Aromatherapy Candles

[Guest guest]

thought you may like this.

 

I took it from www.drweil.com

 

by Dr. Andrew Weil

 

Can Aromatherapy candles really assist in healing?

 

I suspect that aromatherapy will come into its own in the next century both as a

form of complementary medicine and an aid to conventional treatment, but for now

very little research has been done on it. Most medical interest in aromatherapy

is in France, where there is a tradition of using it to treat a variety of

ailments. On this side of the Atlantic, aromatherapy is much more tied to the

beauty and spa industries than to medicine, and those industries are busily

making products of variable quality. Some of them you would do well to avoid,

including many candles.

 

It turns out that some aromatherapy candles emit such hazardous pollutants as

acetone, benzene, lead and soot. Since these harmful substances can impair the

quality of indoor air, you have to be cautious about the aromatherapy candles

you purchase. The National Candle Association suggests that you protect yourself

by buying beeswax candles, which are cleaner and safer than those made with

paraffin wax (the fumes of which have caused kidney and bladder tumors in

laboratory animals). Also, watch the wick. A wick that gets too long while a

candle is burning may be releasing soot into the air (always keep wicks trimmed

to 1/4 to 1/2 inch). If you have noticed sooty deposits in your house, scented

candles may be at fault. To find out for sure, try this simple test:

 

 

a.. Get a stack of thin, white plastic disposable plates.

 

b.. Set up the suspected candles in a confined space (like the bathroom) and

make sure that any vents are closed.

 

c.. Light the candles and then surround them with the plates.

 

d.. Let the candles burn for an hour.

 

If you see a black, sooty deposit on the plates, you can be sure that the

candles are to blame for any soot you have noticed elsewhere in the house.

 

As much as possible, you should also make sure that candles are scented with

natural essential oils rather than synthetic fragrances. This isn't always easy

since candlemakers aren't required to list ingredients on their labels. You

might also try scenting the air in other ways. You can evaporate essential oils

in a small vaporizer or incense burner, or dilute essential oils with water and

spray them from an atomizer.

 

 

 

Tracy

List manager

[Guest guest]

Parrafin wax is nothing but gelled kerosene. It never did make sense to

me to use a petroleum product as the delivery system for an all-natural

health product. The problem is, that is what just about every

" aromatherapy " candlemaker out there is doing. My wife runs a natural

products store here at our farm, and we have yet to find someone

wholesaleing a 100% natural aromatherapy candle. Every one we have tried

so far has parrafin in it. Anyone out there have any better luck?

 

Jason